By Callum Ludwig
Road safety in the Yarra Ranges is again a key topic as a legally blind Wesburn resident contends with the lack of available crossings.
Marie Pleuger has lived in the Yarra Valley since 1987, and since 2004 has been gradually losing her sight to a genetic form of macular dystrophy, a build-up of fatty yellow pigment around the macula part of the retina, responsible for clear vision in your direct line of sight.
Ms Pleuger said she was living out in Hoddles Creek when she was diagnosed.
“I was a gradual thing that I’ve had coming on since my 40s, I lived out in Hoddles Creek on a large rural property for 35 years and gradually was unable to drive safely,” she said.
“I became more and more isolated, especially as were 25 minutes away from the nearest bus stop. So we started looking every now and again for another property, and we loved our property but it was becoming a bit of a hardship for me.”
Ms Pleuger has access to half-price taxi fares due to her condition and makes the most of them where she can.
Ms Pleuger said she loves her new property in Wesburn, other than her concerns about trying to get across the highway from the bus stop.
“Looking outwards all we have is a rural outlook and the hills, it’s superb, it’s beautiful and it’s quiet. We’re both incredibly happy here. I’ve found I can access the bus, get to my philosophy classes, do my grocery shopping, and get to the doctor’s but if I get a bus home I have to try and cross the highway,” she said.
“I’ve travelled around the world for three and a half years, but I don’t trust myself to cross that highway. The nearest crossing without it being school time is at Millgrove and to get from Millgrove to where I live is four kilometres which just isn’t realistic for me.”
The nearest bus stop rests near a bend in the Warburton Highway, where numerous complaints have been made previously about the lack of road safety development, from crossings to electronic speed signs.
There are also virtually no footpaths between Yarra Junction and Millgrove which are crucial for the safety of people like Ms Pleuger.
A Department of Transport spokesperson said safety remains their top priority.
“We are always monitoring our road network to determine where upgrades are needed,” they said.
“We have delivered Pedestrian Operated Signals at several points along the Warburton Highway where they are needed most – safely connecting pedestrians and cyclists with the Warburton Trail.”
The nearest signalised pedestrian crossing is in Millgrove, between Hearse Road and Gillis Road.
In the five years leading up to 31 December 2021, there were no recorded crashes involving pedestrians along Warburton Highway between Old Warburton Road and the Crescent.
The Department of Transport considers and evaluates all requests on a state-wide basis with consideration given to a number of factors, such as the number and type of vehicles using the stretch of road, pedestrian volumes, the historical safety record of the site, and the impact that upgrading the road would have on the performance of the surrounding road network.
